Beverly Hill hairstylist Jose Eber transforms cancer patients

October 24, 2013
| by Denise Heady

Celebrity hairstylist Jose Eber transforms women every day in his Beverly Hills salon. But on Oct. 22, he took his team of professional stylists with him to City of Hope to help transform cancer patients with customized wigs donated by actress Jaclyn Smith.

Eber, an advocate in the fight against women's cancers, knows the effects cancer treatment can have on a woman’s confidence. With the help of City of Hope’s Positive Image CenterSM, Eber and his team of stylists helped patients feel empowered, whole and confident once again.

“I brought in my team from Beverly Hills to make today a day of giving,” Eber told Beauty Launchpad in a recent interview. “All the patients are very excited about it, and so are we.”

Marking the second year Eber has hosted the event at City of Hope, Eber and his team provided patients with wig fittings, hair consultations and styling and cosmetology tips. The women in attendance had either lost their hair or were in the process of growing it back.

Susan Davis, who was being treated for breast cancer at City of Hope, said she thought the Jose Eber event was wonderful. “I’m really excited for them to pick out a wig for me,” she said. “It’s hard for me to do this on my own.”

For patients who were not able leave their rooms to attend the event, Eber visited them inside the hospital.

Cheryl Shepherd, who was battling her second round of cancer at City of Hope, called her new hairstyle perfect. It made her look almost exactly as she did before she lost her hair to treatment.

“The first time I was afraid of a wig, and this time I was afraid of a wig also,” Shepherd told the Los Angeles Times in a video interview. “But thanks to Jose Eber and his team, I’m here today and I have a whole new look. My husband won’t recognize me when I go home, and I doubt if my friends will either. They’re used to seeing me in just a scarf, and now I feel alive again. It’s wonderful and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”